You certainly know that time from time I like to keep you all in the loop of things that are going on and informed about the shape of the things that have to come.

For this reason, today, I'm going to give you some news.

The Team: Departures, Newcomers, Reshuffle

DeparturesIt's very sad for me to announce that, for personal reasons, another Cartography Assistant has knocked at the door of my office to give me back his blue shoes, this time we have to say goodbye to Industrial Helix. If I go back with the memory to 2009, I clearly remember when I became a CA and one of the first maps I followed at that time was the 13 Colonies. I remember a kind guy who was going to push his first map through the foundry process. I remember the funny pms exchange to write a working xml....but I'm digressing with the flow of my memories and probably most of you, right now, are wondering about what the hell I'm talking about. I'm sorry for this, but in my mind is again very clear the moment in which we discussed about having him in the Team, his first post in blue. It seems yesterday, but it was 2 years ago. But as said this is a very personal thing.Instead, what everyone here certainly know is that Helix has helped and served the CC Mapmaking community always in the best way possible, spending hours and hours in front of a screen, mostly to put the new comers and their map drafts on the right track.In these two years the only thing that has kept him away from this site has been a serious health problem and that's why I know that if now ha has taken the decision to resign, it's a because he has good reason.I'm really proud to had him in the Blue Team like CA and like Foreman, and the fact he is resigning it's another sign of the big respect he has for the CA role and for the Mapmaking Community. I take my hat off to you, Sir!It was a pleasure to share two long years of my experience as CA with you. I hope you can find soon a bit of time to come back here and work again on one of your map projects.

NewcomersNow, to move on better news, I'm really happy to say that the Foundry has 2 new helpers that have decided to spend some of their time to help you all!

The first one is nolefan5311.He will help iancanton (ur great gameplay guru) to analyze and balance in the best way possible the gameplay of maps. For now, he will be a "simple" Foundry Assistant, but we hope to spread some blue on his username soon! The second assistant has a username that probably will sound more familiar for you all.He is well know for creating one of the most controversial (and maybe abused) map, for his great activity in the Foundry and for being one of the most known voices of the Foundry Newsletter....I'm happy to announce that koontz1973 has kindly accepted to fill the empty space left by Industrial Helix. Like nolefan5311, also koontz1973 will contribute as Foundry Assistant for now, in future we will see!

Please everyone give a great welcome to nolefan5311 and koontz1973!

But don't think that's all! Be aware that we're still watching for helpers and maybe we're already training someone else behind the scenes Expect more news about this soon!

ReshuffleWith the arrival of these two guys, we're going to reshuffle a bit the Team.

As said earlier the Drafting Room will be followed by koontz1973. He will do most of the job that there's to do although I'll give him some support.Iancanton and nolefan5311 will follow the Gameplay stage.Now that the gameplay is more supported isaiah40, that in the past months has given a big hand to iancanton with gameplay, can move back to his first love. Saying this I mean that Graphics will be fully followed by the old duo: isaiah40 and RedBaron0.Finally the Final Forge; as you certainly know, after the mess happened with his World XL map, natty dread has decided to take a temporary break from the XML checker role.For this reason I've decided to follow the Final Forge entirety , so follow maps from when they enter the forge stage till the moment in which they will be quenched (including XML Check).

For those who aren't familiar with the latin language, the above title can be translated: "times change and we change with them".With this well know phrase I'm confirming to you all that we're discussing some possible minor changes to the Foundry process. I know that the current process works and maybe some of you in this moment are saying "don't fix what is not broken", but after much thoughts on this the CAs Team thinks that maybe the current process doesn't fit perfectly the requests of the Foundry Community (and the CC Community at large).I wasn't here when the "Old Foundry Goers" created this process that, to be honest, has led many mapmakers to produce the great maps we have on this site, but I was here in the last years and I saw the Foundry change.I'm not trying to destroy the current system and I'm not trying to hide its merits. But I've learned during my (not so long) life that questioning is always a good thing. For this reason I would like to write done a sort of proposal and when done ask to those who are interested to review and give feedback, advice and inputs to create/review/improve the current process and push it to a higher level.The purpose is to have a process that fits the mapmakers necessity and desires, not only the site or CAs requests. To do that I'll create a "official" mapmakers usergroup in which we will discuss these changes before to apply them. The purpose of the group will be to discuss the process and improve it.It will be formed for the good of the Foundry and for these reason I want to be sure that those who are willing to help, discuss and collaborate will satisfy really few requirements. Don't worry you don't have to be the new Leonardo or a Community manager to be part of it!

These are the requirements:

Have at least 1 map quenched or in the Beta stage

Not be under any current ban of any type(temporary or permanent)

Just I want to ensure to not have noosy or unfriendly people into it and those who are part of it really know what they are talking about, remember it has to be something constructive.If you're interested in being part of this special usergroup, please send me a PM.

Now, to conclude, in the same way I started this paragraph, I'll leave you with another latin phrase... think about it: Per aspera sic itur ad astra.

And finally, for you all...

In these years I've always wanted to find a way to give to the mapmakers something useful, new. Something that could be usefull for the mapmakers and also for the community at large. Something that could be a sort of tribute to the mapmakers effort to make this site a better place, day after day.I hope you like my present for you all!

I do NOT visit this site and I'm NOT Team CC anymore.All PMs are autobinned. If you need to contact me, you should already have a way to do it without using this site.Thanks to those who helped me through the years.

*scratches his head* Hm, I guess I haven't been in the Main Foundry for longer than I thought! Hello and congrats, nolefan! And, of course, congrats to koontz - always nice to see a Newsletter Volunteer stepping up in the ranks! (Just don't leave us behind, now )

To Industrial Helix - I'll miss you, buddy We had some good times... I hope you can get your life in order and back on track - I know that illness took a major hit to you and your career. But keep your head up! I look forward to the day you return with a virtual smile in your virtual step Thanks for all your volunteering!

I'll be interested to see what this place becomes once all is in place...

I hope to be able to be of some assistance in the foundry even though I'm no longer blue, I always love to help a fellow mapmaker out to see their map idea come to fruition. So there is help if anyone needs it, pm me or write on my wall.

As for my recovery, things have been steadily improving and I'm working hard to make my life better than it was before.

Good to see that the foundry process is under review. In business, it is accepted practice not only to have a controlled process that shapes your basic inputs to produce your primary goods to a given standard of quality, but also to have a process outside of that which reshapes your process so that output continually improves in quantity, quality, or both.

I did express myself elsewhere, but I will summarize: IH will be missed.

I'm busy with an improtant home project that I'm going to finish in few hours (music related things). My plan was to have everything set in the right place during the weekend so I had to postpone all CC related things to moday. About the gallery: I hope soon, but there're some things to do.

I do NOT visit this site and I'm NOT Team CC anymore.All PMs are autobinned. If you need to contact me, you should already have a way to do it without using this site.Thanks to those who helped me through the years.

I'm busy with an improtant home project that I'm going to finish in few hours (music related things). My plan was to have everything set in the right place during the weekend so I had to postpone all CC related things to moday. About the gallery: I hope soon, but there're some things to do.